Ingrid V. Wells
Ingrid V. Wells enjoys using playful subject matter to address complex topics including resilience, personal energetics, and consciousness. She has exhibited her work professionally since 2010 in the United States, Japan, Israel, South Korea, and Ireland. Wells has produced over ten solo exhibitions in the San Francisco Bay Area with Glass Rice Gallery, Voss Gallery, Artists' Television Access, Luna Rienne Gallery, Olive Hyde Gallery, Harrington Gallery, and in Arizona with Phoenix Institute of Contemporary Art, Scottsdale Public Art, and with Eye Lounge: A Contemporary Art Space. She has exhibited her work in over eighty group exhibitions at galleries and museums including The Museum of Northern California Art (MONCA), Mystic Museum of Art, The Museum of Human Achievement, the CICA Museum in Gimpo-si, South Korea, Tokyo International Art Fair, PULSE Miami Art Fair, The Untitled Space (NY, NY), Foley Gallery (NY, NY), Times Square (NY, NY), Center for Contemporary Arts (Santa Fe, NM), Connecticut Academy of Fine Arts, Bedford Gallery at the Lesher Center for the Arts (Walnut Creek, CA), Modified Arts (Phoenix, AZ), and was an invited artist for the ACLU Gala in San Francisco, CA. Wells has exhibited and spoken about her work at art schools and research university galleries including Stanford University (Stanford, CA), Rocky Mountain College of Art & Design (Denver, CO), Jackson Dinsdale Art Center (Hastings, NE), Skyes Gallery (Millersville, PA), Zoller Gallery (State College, PA), Diego Rivera Gallery (San Francisco, CA), and with California College of the Arts.
Her work has been featured and reviewed in The Huffington Post, Daily Mail, BUST Magazine, Create! Magazine, W Magazine, Girl Talk HQ, Creative Boom, NYLON, Audiofemme, SF Weekly, Hyperallergic, Flavorwire, KQED, The Jealous Curator, Teen Vogue, and in other media publications. In 2019, her painting was invited to be featured as a cover image in Spain’s leading newspaper El País, representing the international women’s movement. Wells has received generous support from the New York Foundation for the Arts, Center for Cultural Innovation, Cork City Council, San Francisco Art Institute, and Arizona State University.
Her studio is located in Yelamu, also known as San Francisco, on the unceded territories of Ramaytush Ohlone peoples. She earned her MFA from San Francisco Art Institute and her BFA from Arizona State University. Wells was named by Create! Magazine to be on the list of Top 15 Emerging Artists to Follow on Social Media. You are welcome to visit her on social. Wells was recently interviewed on the New Visionary Podcast with Victoria J. Fry on How to Bring More Joy & Self-Compassion into Your Art Practice.
Contact
ingridvwells.com
twirlproject.com
ingridvwells@gmail.com
@ingridvwells
Interview
What inspires your art practice and keeps you motivated?
My work centers around the path of Enlightenment. I focus on visual sparks of joy and enlarge them to a grand scale on the canvas through oil paint. I aim to equip others with the visual power they need for fulfilling their greatest potential.
My work demonstrates greeting challenges with charm, understanding them to be new opportunities for up-leveling. My practice centers around inner transformation, growth, and expansion (in a fun way).
How does your mission as an artist influence the work you create?
My work engages specific shapes and colors as psychological tools to induce higher states of emotion. I enjoy the practice of painting as it requires the audience to be still in order to experience the work, and I am curious about what the practice of stillness can transform for us internally. As we shape our internal world into the most rich, abundant, beautiful space, our external environment begins to mirror those qualities.
Visually, I reference still life setups that center around celebratory experiences, including objects like confetti and beads. I take great pleasure in the luscious aesthetic qualities of the paintings and aim to bring that sense of lightness to my audience.
Can you share a key part of your creative process that helps you stay focused?
My morning routine is integral to my success as an artist and creative person. I write every day, beginning with Julia Cameron's Morning Pages, followed by a series of gratitude notes, a forgiveness practice, sending love out to the world, daily meditations, and intention setting. Over the past several years, I focused on shaping who I crave to become, investing in becoming her with my daily habits and small incremental actions. I love a star chart. I love a vision board. I love a hypnosis session to reprogram my subconscious.
What mindset tip do you rely on to overcome challenges in your art career?
Here I would recommend the book The Four Agreements. I find that the advice in the book resonates deeply. In particular, I would say that embracing the practices of non-judgment and non-reactivity is helpful. The book discusses not taking anything personally and becoming well acquainted with feeling okay in your pursuit of the unknown. It is important to understand that inevitably, as you venture into unknown territory, it will involve some loss and rejection, which is not a reflection of your worth or value in the world, but simply part of the journey.
How do you hope your art impacts the world or your community?
I'm interested in advancing the global awakening of human consciousness through my oil painting practice. My work acts as a pointer towards finding expanded awareness. I enjoy helping people create more meaningful and joyful lives through the exploration of their own internal empowerment.







